On July 30, Dissident Voice published an article by Yves Engler remarking on increasingly strident support for Israel among sections of the Toronto Jewish community.
He describes aggressive Jewish support for the child-murderers of the Israeli Defense Forces, including attacks on protesters like himself, then contrasts this with what Jews were like before world war two:
The idea that Toronto’s Jewish community in 2014 would be front-and-centre in backing racist militarism is profoundly depressing and quite the historic reversal. Seven decades ago righteous Jewish youth fought back against fascist thugs terrorizing non-Anglo-Saxons in the 1933 Christie Pits Riot.
But perhaps the reason Jews defended other minorities against “fascist thugs” is because it was in their interests to do so. Perhaps that’s why many of them support “racist militarism” today – so long as it’s Jewish racist militarism. A consistent sense of Jewish ethnic identity would lead to strong opposition to white supremacists, and strong support for Jewish supremacists. The most economical explanation of the “reversal” Engler talks about is that it’s not a reversal at all.
Not only is this the more parsimonious explanation, it is a more realistic approach to Palestinian solidarity. It’s Engler’s approach that is “profoundly depressing”, because it continues to fail to grasp the nettle of the connection between Jewish identity, Jewish politics, and the Jewish state.
Another of my attempts to dabble in Canadian Jewish leftist politics, can also be found on Dissident Voice – Defend Jennifer Peto, a Brave Canadian Critic of Zionism.